Rb30 Powered 318i E36

[samoan]

I have a project that i want to do. I have a rb30 ready to go into my BME 318i E36 1993 and im wondering if it will fit and what else i would need to make this work.

Any help would be lovely.

Cheers

[GeeTR]

Iv seen 20's put into E30's.

Guy who's started it a 26 into E36

Theres a guy on here a with an RB in a Beema, not sure model though. If you got the motor, teh measuring tape I reckon.

[Dale FZ1]

Overall engine height may be a problem, as BMW run their engines canted (leaning over to one side) to enable lower bonnet lines.

I know that many blokes in the US shoehorn 6 cylinder BMW engines into the smaller chassis for a pretty potent result. Try searching here: http://forums.bimmerforums.com/forum/index.php

Having said all that, run a tape measure over things. An RB might just fit with no real dramas - as far as engine conversions go.

[Guilt-Toy]

I would love to put my engine setup in a BMW.

that would be cool been thinking about it for a while now.

[samoan]

I've seen a guy with a 2j in his bimmer so i guess it shouldn't be too hard. We'll just have to wait and see

[TTT]

JZ's fit in the Beemers easier than RB's.

JZ has inlet and exhaust on the same side of engine as stock BMW engines.

having said that, SR20's and RB20's have been inserted in to BEEMA's before.

the extra 38mm of RB30 might be a problem.

[samoan]

thanks. what kind of mod's will i need and so on? custom engine mounts? driveshafts?

[Guilt-Toy]

id think that most things external to the engine will need to be modded, you might need to make a plenum that sits closer to the engine and make a custom exaust manifold for the car.

who knows ive never done it before

[samoan]

ive seen a few 20's goint into the 318i but im told that the rb20,rb25,rb26 and rb30 are all the same size in engine just bigger insides. Is that true? cos if so, i reckon it will fit just fine.

[Bliksem]

No the RB30 is 38mm taller

[bubba]

^^ Most definately

[kristafa]

i've got a rb20 in my e36 at the moment, just bought an rb25 to build up and put in it, rb30 would have been nice too but a little outa my price range.

some things to consider when putting rb motor in e36:

- convert sump to rear sump, i went with a new custom sump to clear the bmw crossmember

- custom single piece tailshaft (hardy spicer for around 220)

- definately upgrade diff for rb30 (M3, i've heard someone running 528i diff in theirs)

- remove ABS unit because i found the dump pipe sat right on it, i reran all the brake lines to tidy it up

- for using the tacho from the 4 cyl, no problem, just get one of those 'jaycar speedo signal converter' kits.. works great on my setup.

- oh, and buy one of those haynes manuals! best asset i own

I loved the idea of using rice in the beema.. its still going strong, the most reliable car i've ever owned..

Here is the official build thread that my mate maintains (he did the fab work).

http://forums.performanceforums.com/forums...614244#poststop

I've since wire-tucked everything and repainted the engine bay.. looks heaps better than before.

chris.

[Bliksem]

That RB20 looks right at home in the Bimmer engine bay.

Just a thought re: the sump modification, why not look at running a dry sump setup to aleviate the cross member, and any possible height issues with the RB30DET?

[samoan]

thanks for the info. greatly appreciated

[Nefret]

SOLEEEEEEEE